Diary to keep me on track

sarahmog

Hello everyone,

I am a long time lurker but first time poster. I had my light bulb moment in April when my credit card debt went over £2000 :eek:. From then i have managed to reduce it to £1251.72 through posting it to my mum so i can't spend on it! Also i have sold some DVD's and CD's on Amazon which has brought in over £200.00, canceled my membership of a professional organization which gave me £60.00 and the rest i paid off through some savings (which i now know i shouldn't have as the interest rate on the card is 0% - anyhoo too late now!) and from my wage.

I have now run out of things to sell on Amazon so i have signed up to Quidco, and alot of survey sites however cannot get my hands on the money yet as its not been confirmed or the balances are too low.

My SOA is as follows (monthly):

Income - £1000.00

Outgoings -
Savings £25.00 (please see note below)
Lenses £18.50
TV Licence £11.61
Gas £16.50
Mortgage £363.00 (2year fixed rate ends in Oct 09)
Life Insurance £9.71 (Including critical illness)
Phone and Broadband £25.49 (tied into 12 month contract with BT ends in March 09)
Council Tax £81.00 (including 25% discount)
DFS - Chair £11.86 (0%)
DFS - Sofa £13.00 (0%)
Cats Protection £4.00
Electricity £20.00
Food £60.00
Other £200.00 (for everything else, clothes, birthdays, socializing etc)

Total is £859.67, which leaves me £140.33 left over to stick on my credit card.

I have £25.00 a month that goes into a savings account and i cannot touch it until it matures in January, however i was thinking that i should close this account and instead save it in my ISA?

Also I am due a tax refund, i was on the wrong tax code for last year, but the Inland Revenue has told me i am not due a refund as i have paid the correct amount of tax.... however when i input the figures on their website it says i am due a refund. So hopefully if/when i get the refund it'll go towards the debt, it should be about £40.00. (I also checked it for years 05/06 and 06/07 and it tells me i overpaid by £650.00 so figures crossed i get that back too!)

I also work for the local authority and a member of a union, so i will look into and see if i get any sort of life insurance or critical illness cover free with them.

I'm sorry about the long post, but its really allowed me to think straight and given me the motivation to get rid of this debt and to start serious saving.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

sarahmog

bank_of_slate

sarahmog wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I am a long time lurker but first time poster. I had my light bulb moment in April when my credit card debt went over £2000 :eek:. From then i have managed to reduce it to £1251.72 through posting it to my mum so i can't spend on it! Also i have sold some DVD's and CD's on Amazon which has brought in over £200.00, canceled my membership of a professional organization which gave me £60.00 and the rest i paid off through some savings (which i now know i shouldn't have as the interest rate on the card is 0% - anyhoo too late now!) and from my wage.
Are you paying above the minimum payment to clear it faster? look at https://www.whatsthecost.com snowball calculator to work out how long it'll take to clear paying the amount that you are now.
I have now run out of things to sell on Amazon so i have signed up to Quidco, and alot of survey sites however cannot get my hands on the money yet as its not been confirmed or the balances are too low.

My SOA is as follows (monthly):

Income - £1000.00

Outgoings -
Savings £25.00 (please see note below)
Lenses £18.50
TV Licence £11.61
Gas £16.50 Are you with the cheapest providers for gas and leccy?
Mortgage £363.00 (2year fixed rate ends in Oct 09)
Life Insurance £9.71 (Including critical illness)
Phone and Broadband £25.49 (tied into 12 month contract with BT ends in March 09) Try contacting them, you may still be able to reduce this!
Council Tax £81.00 (including 25% discount)
DFS - Chair £11.86 (0%) have these got long to go?
DFS - Sofa £13.00 (0%)
Cats Protection £4.00 I'd cancel this until you're straight!
Electricity £20.00
Food £60.00 by meal planning and sticking to a shopping list you may be able to reduce this! Do you buy lunches for work or take a packed lunch?
Other £200.00 (for everything else, clothes, birthdays, socializing etc)
This really needs cutting back to a bare minimum, keep a spending diary to check exactly how much you are really spending per month

Total is £859.67, which leaves me £140.33 left over to stick on my credit card.

I have £25.00 a month that goes into a savings account and i cannot touch it until it matures in January, however i was thinking that i should close this account and instead save it in my ISA? weigh up which would be the best option for you!

Also I am due a tax refund, i was on the wrong tax code for last year, but the Inland Revenue has told me i am not due a refund as i have paid the correct amount of tax.... however when i input the figures on their website it says i am due a refund. So hopefully if/when i get the refund it'll go towards the debt, it should be about £40.00. (I also checked it for years 05/06 and 06/07 and it tells me i overpaid by £650.00 so figures crossed i get that back too!)

I also work for the local authority and a member of a union, so i will look into and see if i get any sort of life insurance or critical illness cover free with them.

I'm sorry about the long post, but its really allowed me to think straight and given me the motivation to get rid of this debt and to start serious saving.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

sarahmog

Welcome Sarah, lots of help and support for you here!
Please have a quick look at the warning to newbies -troll thread
...Linda xx

Beerworshipper

Hi Sarahmog,

Congratulations on transitioning from a lurker to a poster.

I just wanted to say welcome to the boards and to wish you good luck with your debt free journey.

You've done really well so far. Don't beat yourself up about using some savings to pay off teh credit card even if it was 0%. The interest that CC companies charge after 0% ends would more than wipe out any amount of interest earned on your savings, plus sometimes its a real pychological plus to see you CC balance reducing so well done you.:T :T

Good luck